Retractable sink with disposable basin



P 1965 D. A. CARLSON 3,206,770

RETRACTABLE SINK WITH DISPOSABLE BASIN Filed April 24, 1964 2Sheets-Sheet 1 0 we? 4. (aw/J 0/7 INVENTOR.

ATTO/P/VEVJ Sept. 21, 1965 D. A. CARLSON RETRACTABLE SINK WITHDISPOSABLE BASIN Filed April 2 4, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. BY {/M4 a 6 5W M A TTOfi/VEYJ United States Patent 3,206,770 RETRACTABLE SINKWITH 'DISPOSABLE BASIN David A. Carlson, R0. Box 168, Richfield, N.C.Filed Apr. 24, 1964, Ser. No. 362,268 14 Claims. (Cl. 4-169) Thisinvention is a continuation-in-part of my copending application SerialNo. 233,214, filed October 26, 1962, now Patent No. 3,132,350 andentitled Sanitary Shower Stall.

This invention relates to sinks in general, and, in particular, to aretractable sink having a disposable wash basin.

Where sinks or wash basins are provided for use by the public, there isthe constant problem of maintaining them in a clean and sanitarycondition. To do this with any degree of success an attendant is usuallyrequired. Further, in many cases such as in the washing facilitiesprovided on trains, airplanes, buses, etc., there is the problem ofproviding adequate space for a sink along with the other items to beinstalled in the compartment set aside for this purpose.

It is an object of this invention to provide a retractable sink whichfurnishes a clean and sanitary wash basin for each successive userthereof.

It is another object of this invention to provide a sink which, when notin use, will not interfere with the use of the other facilities in thecompartment.

It is another object of this invention to provide a sink which isretracted out-of-the-way of the occupant of the compartment until it isto be used, and which will dispose of the used wash basin when it isreturned to its retracted, out-of-the-way position.

It is another object of this invention to provide a sink which isextended into the compartment only when in use.

It is another object of this invention to provide a disposable washbasin for a retractable sink which can be installed quickly and easilyin the sink and which can be disposed of quickly and easily after it hasbeen used.

These and other objects, advantages, and features of the invention willbe apparent to one skilled in the art from this specification, attacheddrawings and appended claims.

These and other objects are obtained in accordance with this invention,by providing a sink which comprises a disposable wash basin and asupporting bracket therefor, the bracket being movable between anextended position for supporting the wash basin and a retracted,outof-the-way position when not in use. Further, in accordance with thisinvention, when the bracket is moved to its retracted, out-of-the-wayposition, the wash basin portion of the sink is disposed of to allow aclean and sanitary wash basin to be installed when the bracket is againmoved to its extended position for use by the next occupant. In thismanner, the sink conserves space by being out-of-the-way when not inactual use and further, it provides a clean and sanitary wash basin foreach sucsive user of the sink.

The invention will now be described in connection with the attacheddrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front isometric view of one embodiment of this inventionshowing the support bracket for the disposable wash basin in itsretracted position and showing in dotted lines the position of thebracket when it is extended in position to support the disposable washbasin;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1,showing the sink ready for use, and showing in dotted lines how the Washbasin can be tilted to dis card the water therein when desired, andalso, how the shape of this embodiment of the wash basin allows it to3,205,770 Patented Sept. 21, 1965 be disposed of when the bracket isreturned to its retracted position;

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of the bracket of FIG. 1 in its extendedposition ready to support the disposable basin;

FIG. 3A shows the stop and detent arrangement used to releasably holdthe bracket in its extended position;

FIG. 4 is an isometric view similar to FIG. 1 illustrating an alternateembodiment of the invention showing the bracket of this embodiment inboth its retracted and extended positions, the latter position beingshown with dotted lines;

FIG. 5 is a vertical section through the sink of FIG. 4 showing the sinkready for use and illustrating how the water in the sink can be dumpedout by the user of the sink when this is desired;

FIG. 6 illustrates the means employed in this embodiment to remove thesupport from the wash basin when the bracket is returned to itsretracted position to dispose of the basin by allowing the wash basin tofall through the opening in the bracket to prepare the bracket toreceive another new, clean, sanitary wash basin when it is again movedto its extended position; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, showing how the rearflange of the basin is supported in this embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, and 3A this embodiment of the invention,comprises a U-shaped bracket 10, having a bight portion 10a and two legportions 10b and 100. The bracket is pivotally mounted in opening 11 inpanel 12, which can be the wall of a wash room in a railroad carcompartment, of a railroad or bus station wash room, or it can be thewall of a shower stall such as the type described in the applicationmentioned above of which this is a continuation-in-part, where it wouldbe particularly desirable to have a wash basin, which would be out ofthe way when not actually in use.

The bracket is pivotally mounted in opening 11 by means of stub shafts13 and 14. The shafts extend through openings provided therefor ineyelets 15 and 16 which are integrally connected to leg portions 10b and10c of the bracket approximately midway between the ends thereof. Inthis manner the outer portions 10d and 10a of legs 10]) and extend intoopening 11 of panel 12 to engage stop means, only one of which, stopmeans 17, is shown in the drawing. Thus, when bracket 10 is pivoted tothe position illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, portion 10d will engage stopmeans 17 and leg portion 10a will engage similar stop means (not shown)to thereby stop the bracket in a horizontal position. Releasable holdingmeans 18 are provided to hold the bracket in its extended, horizontalposition, by holding leg 10d in engagement with stop means 17. As shownin FIG. 3A the releasable holding means of this embodiment includes adetent member 18 which is connected to a plunger 20 of solenoid 19.Resilient means (not shown) are provided within solenoid 19 to urgedetent 18 and plunger 20 toward the outward position shown in FIG. 3A.However, when leg 10d encounters the inclined lower edge of detentmember 18 it can overcome the resilient means and force detent member 18laterally out of the way to allow the leg to move into engagement withstop means 17. Once past detent 18, of course, the detent will move backinto the position shown and hold leg 10d against downward movement.After the sink has been used, the occupant of the compartment canrelease the bracket for movement back to its retracted position byenergizing solenoid 19 through push button switch 21. Solenoid 19 willthen move detent 18 laterally out of its holding position relative toleg 10d and allow the bracket to be rotated back to the retracted,out-of-the-way position illustrated in FIG. 1.

In the embodiment illustrating, resilient means, comprising coil spring22, is provided to urge the bracket back to its retracted orout-of-the-way position. In this way when release switch 21 is closedand solenoid 19 moves detent 18 out of its holding position, spring 22will return the bracket to its retracted position.

A disposable wash basin is provided to combine with the bracket tocompete the sink. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, washbasin 24 has a bowl portion 24a for holding a quantity of water forwashing purposes and laterally extending flanges 24b which extendoutwardly from the upper edge of bowl portion 24a. The flanges aredesigned to engage bracket and help support the bowl portion of thebasin within opening 25 defined by the U-shaped bracket and panel 12.

How the wash basin is supported will depend upon the shape of the bowlportion. If the bowl portion is designed to extend entirely throughopening 25, it can be supported by providing laterally extending flanges24b on opposite sides of the bowl to engage legs 1% and 100 of thebracket. In the embodiment shown, bowl portion 24a is provided with arear wall 26, which extends rearwardly into opening 11 of panel 12 andrests on the lower edge 12a of the opening. The front portion of lateralflange 24b then combines with the rear wall to support the basin onbracket 10.

By providing the Wash basin with a back wall, like back wall 26 whichintersects the plane of lateral flanges 24b at a relatively small angleto provide a low-pitched sloping surface for engagement with panel 12,the basin can be quickly and easily disposed of, by rotating the bracketto its retracted position, allowing the basin to slide out of thebracket along back wall 26. This form of the basin is preferred forwhere the bowl portion extends completely into opening 25, the basin hasless tendency to fall from the bracket of its own weight, even when thebracket is moved to the vertical retracted position.

The wash basin is preferably formed of a material having sufficientstrength to support the quantity of liquid in bowl 24a and sufficientrigidity, particularly in flange portions 24b, to protect the basin whenit is filled with water. It is contemplated that when this sink isprovided in facilities to be used by the public, where it is importantthat a clean, sanitary wash basin be provided to each subsequent userthereof, that a supply of these wash basins will be provided in someconvenient container or dispenser where the user of the facilities canobtain a fresh, clean, sanitary wash basin for his use, either free, orby depositing a certain amount of money. Thus, when an occupant of thewash room desires to use the wash basin, he can remove disposable washbasin 24 from a container or dispenser, pull bracket 10 out to itsextended position, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, place the disposable washbasin in opening 25 of the support member, and proceed to use the sinkin the conventional manner. As shown, a spigot 28 and faucets 29 and 30are located above the sink to provide water thereto.

. After the user of the sink has finished with it, he can dump the waterin the sink, dispose of the wash basin and return the bracket thereforto its retracted out-of-theway position simply by pushing release button21. This all will take place, of course, if spring 22 can providesufficient force to rotate bracket 10 back to its retracted,out-of-the-way position with a basin full of water resting thereon.Otherwise, means must be provided to furnish the necessary force, or theuser will have to rotate the bracket back to its retracted position. Ineither event, whichever system is employed, as the bracket rotates backtoward the vertical position, basin 10 will be tipped rearwardly,dumping its contents into chamber 32 in panel 12. concomitantly, withthe dumping of its contents, the basin 1g. itself will slide alongtapered surface 26 out of bracket 10 into chamber 32. It is contemplatedthat within the panel below chamber 32, a drain for the water and areceptacle for the used wash basins will be provided.

In many instances, the user of the wash basin may wish to dump watertherefrom before he is ready to dispose of the basin. For this purposehe can simply lift up on the front end of the wash basin by flange 24band dump the water out of the back into chamber 32. Or, as in theembodiment illustrated, a second U-shaped member 34, having legs 34a and34b and a bight portion 340, can be provided for this purpose. Thisbasin tilting member is also arranged to be pivotally mounted on stubshafts 13 and 14 and to be located within the legs and bight portion ofbracket 10 as shown in FIG. 3. Bight portion 34c of the tilting memberis provided with a handle 35 which overlaps bight 10a of bracket 10 andprevents the tilting member from rotating on past bracket 10. Also thisinsures that when basin supporting bracket 10 is rotated to itsretracted position, it will carry tilting member 34 with it. However,with this arrangement tilting member 34 is free to rotate in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIGS. 2 and 3, and thus the user ofthe sink can tilt the wash basin rearwardly to dump the water therein,simply by grasping handle 35 and lifting upward to the position shown bydotted lines in FIG. 2. This provides a convenient way for dumping thewater out of the basin before the user is through therewith; however,the user should be careful to hold on to flange 24b as well as handle35, otherwise the basin may inadvertently slip out of bracket 10.

An alternate embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 7of the drawings. In this embodiment, the sink comprises a bracket whichincludes a front portion 50a, a rear portion 50b and two side portions50c and 50d which combine to make a rectangular shaped bracket having anopening 51 therethrough. Bracket 50 is slidably mounted in wall or panel52 to reciprocate from a retracted out-of-the-way position, as shownwith the solid line in FIG. 4, to an extended position which is shown inFIG. 5, and by the dotted lines in FIG. 4. In other words, bracket 50 ismounted in opening 54 in panel 52, much like a drawer, in that it slidesbetween runners, only one pair of which, runners 53a and 53b in FIG. 5,are shown. On the opposite side of opening 54, a similar pair of runnersare located to guide and support the bracket as it slides back and forthbetween its extended and retracted position. Stop means 55a and 55b arelocated to limit the distance the bracket can travel into and out ofopening 54.

In the embodiment illustrated, resilient means, coil spring 56, isconnected to back portion 50b of bracket 50 and panel 52 of the rear ofopening 54, to bias bracket 50 toward its retracted position inengagement with stop 55a. Thus, when bracket 50 is extended for holdinga disposable wash basin, releasable holding means are provided to holdit in its extended position in engagement with stop 55b against theforce exerted by coil spring 56. In the embodiment illustrated, thereleasable holding means include solenoid 57, which is provided with adetent plunger 58, and which is resiliently biased outwardly to snapinto slot 59 in side portion 50d and hold bracket 50 in its extendedposition. return the bracket to its retracted, out-of-way position, byenergizing solenoid 57, detent plunger 58 will be pulled from slot 59,allowing coil spring 56 to return the bracket to its retracted positionin engagement with rear stop 55a.

Thus, when an occupant of the wash room, where the embodiment of theinvention is installed, desires to use the sink, he pulls outwardly onfront portion 50a, which is provided with a drawer type handle for thispurpose, until detent 58 snaps into slot 59. Bracket 50 is now inposition to receive a disposable wash basin. Here, as was the case inthe embodiment described above, it is Then when it is desired to.

contemplated that wash basins will be provided in suitable dispensers,so that each successive user of the sink can use a different wash basin,thereby insuring that each user is provided with a clean, sanitary washbasin.

In this embodiment, wash basin 61 has a bowl portion 61a and front andrear laterally extending flanges 61b and 61c respectively, and no sideflanges, at least none which extend out far enough to engage sideportions 50c and 50d of the bracket. Front flange 61b engages supportsurface 63 on front portion 50a and rear flange 61c engages rear portion50b to support the basin on the bracket. Rear flange 610 as shown inFIG. 7, is provided with a cavity 61d to receive protrusion 62 carriedby rear portion 50b of bracket 50. Preferably protrusion 62 is roundedas is cavity 61d to provide a pivot point around which the wash basincan be rotated to the position shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 5. Thiswill allow the user of the sink to dispose of water in the wash basinfrom time to time without having to purchase a new wash basin. Thus, bylifting up on flange 61b, the water in basin can be dumped into opening54. A drain (not shown) to carry the used water to the sewer, is locatedin panel 52 at the bottom of opening 54.

Wash basin 61 is made from material having sufiicient strength tosupport a quantity of water in the bowl portion 61a and the flanges 61band 61c should have suflicient rigidity to support the bowl full ofwater between the front and rear portions of bracket 50.

A spigot 64 and water valves 65 and 66 are located in panel 52 inposition to fill the wash basin with water when desired. After the userhas finished with the sink, he pushes release button 67 in the side ofpanel 52, which energizes solenoid 57 and moves detent 58 out of slot59, allowing spring 56 to pull bracket 50 toward its retracted position.

Means are the bracket bodiment,

provided to dispose of wash basin 61 when reaches its retractedposition. In this cms was the case in the embodiment described In thisembodiment, front portion 50a of bracket 50 is connected to sideportions 500 and 50d in the manner shown in FIG. 6, where the connectionbetween front portion 50a and side portion 50d is shown.

which is arranged to exert a force on end plate 72 and spring'stop plate74 connected to pin 70. In this manner, spring 73 and itscounterpart inside portion 500 exert a force tending to hold front end portion 5011against the ends of side portions 50c and 50d. Thus, when the bracket isin its extended position, supporting surface 63 on front end portion 50awill be the proper distance from rear portion 50b to engage flange61band support the basin. However, by arranging stop 55a at a distance fromthe front of panel 52 such that side portions 500 and 50d will be pulledaway from front portion 50a when the bracket is retracted in the mannershown in FIG. 6, the support for the basin is removed when the bracketis retracted.

In operation, then, with the cavity 61d in flange 610 on the wash basinin engagement with protrusion 62 on rear piece 50b of the support member50, the wash basin will continue to move rearward with the rear portion50b of the bracket thereby pulling flange 61b of the wash basin, off ofsupport surface 63 on front portion 50a. This will allow wash basin 61to fall through opening 51 in the manner shown in FIG. 6, dumping bothit and the water therein into opening 54. In this way, each time bracket50 is returned to its retarded position, it will automatically dump thewash basin and its contents therefrom, thus readying the bracket for useby the next occupant of the wash room.

tus and structure.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are ofutility and may be employed without reference to other features andsubcornbinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of theclaims.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention withoutdeparting from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matterherein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

The invention having been described, what is claimed is:

1. A wall mounted retractable support for a wash basin, comprising awall having a recess with a receptacle below the recess, a basinsupporting bracket having an opening therein to receive a Wash basin; aplurality of basin supporting surfaces on the bracket adjacent theopening and on opposite sides thereof to support a basin in the opening;means for mounting the bracket in the wall for movement between anextended basin supporting position generally perpendicular to the walland a retracted generally vertical non-basin supporting position in therecess to allow a wash basin located in the opening in the bracket tofall by gravity out of the bracket into the receptacle.

2. A wall mounted, retractable sink comprising, a bracket having anopening, a plurality of basin supporting surface on the bracket adjacentthe opening; a wash basin having a bowl portion for holding a quantityof Water adapted to extend through the opening in the bracket andlaterally extending flanges attached to the bowl portion for engagingthe basin supporting surfaces on the bracket to at least partiallysupport the bowl within the opening; means movably mounting the bracketin a wall for movement between an extended basin supporting positionwiththe supporting surfaces generally horizontal and a retractedposition with the supporting surfaces generally vertical to allow thebasin to fall by gravity from the bracket.

3. A wall mounted, retractable sink comprising, a bracket having anopening therein, a plurality of basin supporting surfaces on the bracketadjacent the opening; a wash basin having a bowl portion for holding aquantity of water adapted to extend through the opening in the bracketand laterally extending the flanges attached to the bowl portion forengaging the basin supporting surfaces on the bracket to support thebowl within the opening; means movably mounting the bracket in a wallfor movement between an extended basin supporting position and aretracted position, and means for moving at least one of the supportingsurfaces on the bracket out of engagement with the flanges on the basinwhen the bracket is retracted to allow the basin to fall through theopening in the bracket.

4. A retractable sink for mounting in a wall, comprising, a wash basinhaving a bowl with laterally extending flanges attached thereto; aU-shaped bracket to at least partially encircle the bowl and engage thelaterally extending flanges to at least partially support the basin;means for pivotally attaching the bracket to a wall for movement from agenerally horizontal position for supporting the basin to a generallyvertical position to allow the basin to fall from the bracket.

5. The retractable sink of claim 4 further provided with resilient meansurging the bracket toward the retracted position and holding means forreleasably holding the bracket in the extended basin supportingposition.

6. The retractable sink of claim 5 further provided with a secondU-shaped bracket pivotally attached to the wall and positioned to beengaged by the first mentioned bracket and urged toward the retractedposition, said second bracket being free to pivot toward the retracedposition to tilt the basin sufliciently to pump the water therefromwithout requiring the release of the first mentioned bracket.

7. A wall mounted, retractable support for a disposable Wash basincomprising, a first U-shaped bracket, means pivotally attaching thebracket to a wall for movement between an extended substantiallyhorizontal basin supporting position and a retracted substantiallyvertical position; a second U- shaped bracket, means pivotally attachingthe second bracket to a wall to pivot around the same axis as the firstbracket, said second bracket being arranged to engage the first bracketand to be supported thereby; stop means for supporting the first bracketin its extended position; resilient means urging the first brackettoward its retracted position, and means for releasably holding thefirst bracket in its extended position.

8. A retractable sink for mounting in a wall, comprising, a brackethaving an opening therein and a plurality of basin supporting surfacesadjacent the opening, means 'for slidably mounting the bracket in a wallto reciprocate between an extended position and a retracted position; awash basin having a bowl for holding aquantity of water and laterallyextending flanges attached thereto, said basin being arranged to besupported by the bracket with the bowl extending into the opening andthe flanges engaging the basin'supporting surfaces; and means for movingat least one of the basin supporting surfaces out of engagement with theflanges on the basin when the bracket is in its retracted position toallow the basin to fall through the opening therein.

9. The sink of claim 8 in which the bracket is rectangular having afront, a back and two side members, with the front and back membersbeing arranged to support the basin and resiliently connected togetherto allow one to move away from the other, and stop means are provided tostop the movement of the front member before the back member reaches theend of its movement toward the retracted position to thereby move atleastone supporting surface out of engagement with the basin.

10. A retractable sink for mounting in a wall, comprising, a brackethaving an opening therein and a plurality of basin supporting surfacesadjacent the opening, means for slidably mounting the bracket in a wallto reciprocate between an extended position and a retracted position; awash basin having a bowl for holding a quantity of water and a laterallyextending flange attached thereto, said basin being arranged to besupported by the bracket with the bowl extending into the opening andthe flange engaging a basin supporting surface; and means for moving thebasin supporting surface out of engagement with the flange on the basinwhen the bracket is in its retracted position to allow the basin to fallthrough the opening therein.

11. A retractable sink for mounting in a wall, comprising, a brackethaving a front, a back and two side members arranged to define anopening therein, said front member being resiliently connected to andbiased toward the back member through the two side members; means forslidably mounting the bracket in a wall to reciprocate between anextended position and a retracted position; a wash basin having a bowlfor holdin a quantity of water and laterally extending flanges attachedto the bowl, said basin being arranged for the bowl to extend throughthe opening in the bracket with the flanges engaging the front and backmembers when the bracket is in its extended position; reslient meansurging the bracket toward its retracted position; holding means forreleasably holding the bracket in its extended position; and stop meansfor stopping the movement of the front member before the back memberreaches its retracted position to move the front and back members apartsufliciently to allow the basin to fall through the opening in thebracket.

12. A Wall-mounted, retractable, support for a disposable wash basin,comprising, a bracket having a front, a back, and two side membersarranged to define an opening; means resiliently connecting the frontmember to the back member; means for slidably mounting the bracket in awall to reciprocate between a position extending outwardly from the walland a retractedposition substantially within the wall; resilient meansurging the bracket toward its retracted position; holding means forreleasably holding the bracket in its extended position; and means formoving the front member away from the back member as the bracket movesinto its retracted position.

13. As an article of manufacture, a disposable wash basin having a bowlportion for holding a quantity of Water and a laterally extending flangeattached to the bowl having suflicient rigidity and strength to engagesupporting surfaces on a wall mounted retractable support bracket tosupport the bowl, said bowl portion having a back side which makes arelatively small angle with the plane of the flanges to provide alow-pitched sloping surface to allow the basin to slide easily out of asupport bracket.

14. A wall mounted retractable support for a wash basin comprising abasin supporting bracket having an opening therein to receive a washbasin, a plurality of basin supporting surfaces on the bracket adjacentthe opening and on opposite sides thereof to support such basin in theopening, means for mounting the bracket in a wall for movement betweenan extended basin supporting position generally perpendicular tosuch.wall and a retracted non-basin supporting position and means formoving at least one of the basin supporting surfaces out of basinsupporting position to allow such basin to fall through the opening inthe bracket when the bracket is in its retracted position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 646,759 4/00Petrie 248-240.4 1,268,256 6/18 Leyh 4169 LEWIS J. LENNY, PrimaryExaminer. EDWARD V. BENHAM, Examiner.

1. A WALL MOUNTED RETRACTABLE SUPPORT FOR A WASH BASIN, COMPRISING AWALL HAVING A RECESS WITH A RECEPTACLE BELOW THE RECESS, A BASINSUPPORTING BRACKET HAVING AN OPENING THEREIN TO RECEIVE A WASH BASIN; APLURALITY OF BASIN SUPORING SURFACES ON THE BRACKET ADJACENT THE OPENINGAND ON OPPOSITE SIDES THEREOF TO SUPPORT A BASIN IN THE OPENING; MEANSFOR MOUNTING THE BRACKET IN THE WALL FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN AN EXTENDEDBASIN SUPPORTING POSITION GENERALLY PERPENDICULAR TO THE WALL AND ARETRACTED GENERALLY VERTICAL NON-BASIN SUPPORTING POSITION IN THE RECESSTO ALLOW A WASH BASIN LOCATED IN THE OPENING IN THE BRACKET TO FALL BYGRAVITY OUT OF THE BRACKET INTO THE RECEPTACLE.